LinkedIn buy biggest acquisition since I became CEO: Nadella

Microsoft started discussing the deal in February, Satya Nadella said, adding that the acquisition is about the next phase of growth for the company.

IMAGE: Microsoft, which has 1.2 billion users globally of its Office suite of software, will get access to over 433 million members of LinkedIn.. Photograph: Reuters

Microsoft chief Satya Nadella on Monday said new opportunities for monetisation will be created once integration with LinkedIn, its largest acquisition till date, is completed.

The $26.2-billion deal, which is the largest in the history of the Redmond-based firm, will help "reinvent productivity and business processes", Nadella said in an e-mail to employees.

According to a presentation, the total addressable market size for Microsoft has grown to $315 billion, from $200 billion earlier.

"Given this is the biggest acquisition for Microsoft since I became CEO, I wanted to share with you how I think about acquisitions overall. To start, I consider if an asset will expand our opportunity - specifically, does it expand our total addressable market?" he wrote in the e-mail to employees.

"Is this asset riding secular usage and technology trends? And does this asset align with our core business and overall sense of purpose? The answer to all of those questions with LinkedIn is squarely yes."

Microsoft started discussing the deal in February, Nadella said, adding that the acquisition is about the next phase of growth for the company.

Stating that LinkedIn will retain its distinct brand, independence and culture, he said Jeff Weiner will continue to head the world's largest professional networking platform.

He explained that as experiences on LinkedIn and Office 365 get "more intelligent and delightful, engagement will grow".

"And in turn, new opportunities will be created for monetisation through individual and organization subscriptions and targeted advertising," Nadella added.

He said the teams will partner on product integration plans with the Office 365 and Dynamics teams.

"During the integration, we'll pick key projects where we can go deep together that will ultimately result in new experiences for customers. Kurt DelBene will lead the overall integration efforts at Microsoft in close partnership with Qi Lu and Scott Guthrie," he said.

Microsoft, which has 1.2 billion users globally of its Office suite of software, will get access to over 433 million members of LinkedIn.

It will seek regulatory approval in the US, the European Union, Canada and Brazil before closing the transaction.